The church has gone, but its burial ground and memorials preserve the setting of High Blantyre’s parish centre before worship moved next door.
Quick facts
- Date
- Church built 1793 and later demolished; burial ground of wider date
- Architect / designer
- Builders and monument makers not comprehensively identified
- Type
- Historic churchyard and site of a demolished parish church
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB5157)
- OS grid reference
- NS 67950 56612
Architecture and continuing use
The designation centres on the churchyard and the footprint of the 1793 church rather than an upstanding building. Enclosing walls, paths and grave monuments give spatial form to a lost structure and to generations of parish burial.
Its story
A parish church was erected here in 1793. It was superseded by W. C. Rowan’s larger church in 1863 and subsequently demolished. The burial ground remained, and South Lanarkshire Council now manages it as an historic cemetery with records available for enquiry.
Why it is included
Category B listing recognises a burial landscape that preserves archaeological, commemorative and community evidence after the disappearance of its principal building.
What to notice
- The spatial relationship between graves and the lost church site.
- Memorial forms and inscriptions from different periods.
- Boundary fabric separating the old ground from later surroundings.
Reading the surroundings
The council reports access to the grounds. Keep to paths, respect mourners and memorials, avoid unstable stones and follow any temporary closure or maintenance notice.
Timeline
- 1793 A new parish church was erected within the burial ground.
- 1863 Worship transferred to Rowan’s replacement church nearby.
- later 19th century The superseded 1793 church was demolished.
- 1971 The old churchyard received Category B listing.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The designation does not define the exact lost footprint or date every surviving monument. Ground and memorial conditions can change.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: High Blantyre Old Churchyard, LB5157 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- Trove designation: LB5157 — Parallel national designation identity and archival context.
- South Lanarkshire Council: High Blantyre Old Churchyard — Council confirmation of the managed burial ground, records and present access status.
Location
OS grid reference NS 67950 56612 · Location confidence: High: the current national designation supplies an exact mapped National Grid Reference; public text separately states access and current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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